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Andria Zafirakou, is an art & design and textiles teacher at Alperton Community School in Wembley, north-west London. She has reached the last stage of the million-dollar Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize.

In a film, published online by the Independent, Andria Zafirakou says: 'It [art and design] is a powerful subject, it helps children unlock language barriers.'

Andria, who is also associate deputy headteacher at Alperton Community School, has learnt how to say basic greetings in many of the 35 languages spoken at the school to help parents feel included.

On behalf of NSEAD members, Lesley Butterworth, general secretary of NSEAD, has written to congratulate Andria for this huge achievement for representing our subject, and for inspiring young people and teachers alike.

The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize is co-founded by Bill Gates to recognise an individual's outstanding contribution to the profession. The other 10 finalists, drawn from 30,000 entries from 173 countries, are from Turkey, South Africa, Colombia, Philippines, United States, Brazil, Belgium, Australia and Norway.